Acute effects of cholecystokinin tetrapeptide on brain stem auditory evoked potentials in healthy volunteers

What Was Tested

The paper reports a study of Cholecystokinin (CCK), published as a randomized controlled trial.

This study investigated the effects of continuous slow intravenous infusion of cholecystokinin tetrapeptide (CCK-4) on brain stem auditory evoked potentials (BSAEP) in healthy subjects.

Who Took Part

The study group was 16 subjects.

PubMed indexes the participants as teenagers and adults, both men and women.

Twenty-four subjects, 15 females and 9 males, were assigned to infusion with either placebo or CCK-4 in a randomized, double-blind, parallel group design.

How the Study Was Run

The design is described as randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled and parallel-group.

Random assignment meant chance, not the researchers, decided who got Cholecystokinin (CCK) and who got the comparison, which limits bias.

Blinding on both sides kept the subjects and researchers unaware of who received Cholecystokinin (CCK).

A placebo (an inactive look-alike) gave the Cholecystokinin (CCK) group a baseline to be compared against.

The Cholecystokinin (CCK) group and the comparison group ran side by side rather than switching.

BSAEPs, mood, physical symptoms, and vital signs were assessed once before infusion and at 10 min and 40 min after the onset of infusion.

What Was Measured

PubMed files the paper under topics including Affect, Blood Pressure, Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem, Gastrointestinal Agents, Heart Rate and Tetragastrin.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of Cholecystokinin (CCK) in 16 subjects.

With fewer than 40 people, it is a small study, so it is better read as an early signal for further research than as a settled answer.

The publication is from 2003 (Pharmacopsychiatry), a journal based in Germany.

More context: the Cholecystokinin (CCK) compound page, all human trials.